Lightnings Daughter, Mary Herbert [year 7 reading list .TXT] 📗

into the raging inferno. Sparks and flames soared high on the night wind.

For a moment, Gabria leaned gratefully against the cold stone and gulped in the clean night air. She was sick, dizzy, and utterly exhausted. Her head felt as if a stone mason was pounding on her temples.

She ignored the curious onlookers and wished desperately for a drink. Tam pressed against her, trying hard not to cry.

Beside her, Athlone had sagged against the wall and was taking deep racking breaths to expel the smoke in his lungs. She reached over and clasped his hand.

"What happened?" she asked.

For a long time he could not answer. Final y, he croaked, "We searched upstairs as far as we could and found nothing. The palace was a bonfire."

Gabria took a close look at him and winced. His face was black with soot, his clothes were riddled with bums, and the soles of his boots were charred.

"We came down the stairs to get out and saw Branth in the hal ." The chief struggled to stand straight. "We tried to stop him, but he was . . ." Athlone tried to find the right word. "Wild. He just leaped at us like a mad wolf. Bregan saw his dagger and threw himself in front of me." The chief’s voice cracked, and he shook his head in grief and anger.

Gabria glanced at Piers, who was bending over the old warrior. The healer caught her eyes and shook his head. Gabria wanted to weep.

At that moment, Khan'di came through the crowd. The nobleman's clothes were spattered with blood, and his face was strained with worry and weariness. His smile lit up when he saw the travelers by the wall. "Praise Elaja, you are safe,” he cried. His expression fell when he saw Bregan, but he had little time for sorrow then. Urgently he turned to Gabria. "Sorceress, we desperately need your help."

Gabria groaned. She did not feel well enough to help herself, let alone Khan'di. Nevertheless she stood up, hanging on to Tam for support, and fol owed the noblemen back around the wal to the entrance gate.

For a long time they simply stood and stared at the monstrous fire that was consuming the Fon's magnificent palace.

The city's fire brigade was frantically trying to protect what was left of the central block and the south wing, but the blaze was too much for their bucket lines.

Khan'di cleared his throat. "Sorceress, the fire is far beyond our control. Is there any way you can put it out?"

Gabria was stunned. The fire was so big, so powerful, she had never considered such a thing. It was easy to form globes of light or make a door turn to dust, but to quench such a vast inferno? She doubted that she had the skil or the strength.

Lightning flickered overhead, and she looked up at the sky. "There's a storm coming. The rain will put it out."

Khan'di fol owed her gaze. "I know,” he said, "but it's moving too slowly. Right now the wind is whipping up the fire." He pointed to the burning roof where a strong gust swept sparks and burning debris into the air. "If any of that lands in other parts of the city, it could start more fires. Some areas are so old and full of wood that a single spark could Start a conflagration that even a hurricane could not put out."

Gabria understood his fear, but still she hesitated. "Isn't sorcery still against the law in Pra Desh?

What will all of those people do if I start using magic?"

The nobleman tapped his sword. "You stil have my promise of protection. No one wil dare touch you as long as you are under my care."

Gabria was silent. If there was only something she could do! She pushed her weariness and headache aside and tried to think. How does one put out a fire? Water was the obvious answer and water was coming, but not fast enough. She knew from her teacher, the Woman of the Marsh, that human magic-wielders were not strong enough to control something as powerful and unpredictable as the weather, so she could not manipulate the Storm. Nor did she think she should try to direct the tremendous fire itself. What she needed was a spell that was uncomplicated and foolproof that she could keep under control, even in her weakened state.

The sorceress rubbed her temples with one hand and held on to Tam with the other. What was another way to put out a fire? Blow it out with a great wind. Dump dirt on it to smother it. . . .

Her mind focused on an idea. She knew fire needed air in order to burn. If the air was cut off by dirt or a wet blanket, the fire died out. Gabria realized she did not need dirt, all she needed was an airtight, arcane shell over the fire. The flames would fade, the sparks could not fly, and the city would be protected. Al she would have to do is hold the shield until the storm broke.

The storm.

Gabria stared up at the black sky, and the strange feeling of growing power that she had sensed earlier burst into understanding. The thunderstorm was enhancing, the powers of magic!

Magic existed in every person, animal, and thing. It lay everywhere to be tapped by a human with the talent to utilize the power. Gabria realized, as the thunderstorm bore down on the city, that the magic around her was intensifying as if the vast forces of the storm were heightening the magical energy already present.

She looked back at the walls of the palace and wondered if she could make use of this increased power. She would need a lot of strength to hold a shield so big---strength she did not want to needlessly waste with Branth still on the loose.

"All right,” she said forceful y and dropped